The Right to Care: Refugee Claimants in Nova Scotia and Health Care Access in the Context of COVID-19

This project responds to a long-term equity issue faced by our partner organization, the Halifax Refugee Clinic (HRC), that has taken on new urgency due to COVID-19: that is, access to publicly-funded healthcare for Refugee Claimants and other migrants with precarious legal status who, since March 2020, have increasingly sought support from the Clinic. The HRC is a non-government, grassroots agency with a mandate to serve refugee claimants on a pro bono basis. It is the only organization in Nova Scotia to provide comprehensive legal and settlement services to refugee claimants and to migrants with precarious status. Despite lower numbers of new arrivals, since March 2020, the HRC has seen their client numbers increase, corresponding to lapsed visas, changes to employment status, and emergent global realities prompting asylum-claims and requests for support amongst temporary migrants already in Nova Scotia. The Clinic is currently working with 250 clients, all of whom face significant obstacles in accessing health care. Often an outcome of jurisdictional and administrative confusion, these obstacles are compounded by the structural realities attending refugee protection in Nova Scotia—notably, racism, xenophobia, and welfare chauvinism. 

In response to these issues, this project identifies, analyzes, and seeks to redress the manifold existing healthcare access-barriers for those seeking asylum in Nova Scotia, as well as those with precarious legal status. In so doing, we aim to generate qualitative social scientific evidence that details the healthcare needs of refugee claimants and other with precarious legal status, and supports action-oriented policy discussions concerning healthcare access for this cohort of particularly vulnerable migrants. More precisely, this project will conduct: a) a policy scan and analysis on refugee healthcare access, in Nova Scotia and across Canada; b) in-depth interviews with HRC clients concerning their health-related needs and experiences in accessing care; and c) stakeholder interviews focusing predominately on administrative practices, and paying close attention to instances of professional discretion and/or ad hoc approaches to service delivery that either enhance access to health care or limit it. From this, we aim to better understand not only the legislative and organizational systems of health care access for this group of migrants in Nova Scotia, but also the individual and institutional social, cultural, and professional biases and approaches that may influence access. 


Funder: SSHRC Partnership Engage
Co-Investigators: Dr. Catherine Bryan, Dr. Shiva Nourpanah, and Gillian Smith
Partner Organization: Halifax Refugee Clinic